Kyle Dresback

Dear Friends,

There’s something refreshingly simple about John 15, in which Jesus begins, “I am the true vine and my Father is the gardener.” Though certain verses from the chapter have been used as threats by Christians to outsiders, Jesus’ words here are a simple invitation.

“Stay close,” Jesus seems to say. “Whatever hardships and headwinds you face, trust me.”

When it comes to hardships, it’s helpful for me to remember that we are not the first to find the world a confusing and challenging place. One of the reasons the Church has thrived over the centuries is that it is both a refuge and a roadmap for those who seek to “remain in” Jesus.

I spent September 10, 2001 packing up my car with my belongings as I prepared to head off to grad school. The next morning I would drive away from home and out into the world for the first time.

I woke up on September 11 to a very different world. For two days, I drove south on I-5 from Washington state to southern California listening to AM radio and wondering how I would fare in this fearful and violent world on my own.

I walked into a neighborhood church the next Sunday because I could hear hymns being sung loudly from a block away. The sanctuary was packed as most were that day. I had never been to this church. I didn’t know a soul there. But there was a sense of familiarity and a shared story. I had found a refuge in a tumultuous world.

Later in life, I’ve sought answers to what it means to foster meaningful relationships, navigate a professional life, parent children, and bury relatives. In this regard, the Church has always held up – both institutionally and the individuals within – examples of how to “remain in” Jesus. In this way the Church has been a roadmap for me, not prescribing a route but mapping options of faithful living.

From baptizing children to remembering those who have died, the Church tells a coherent story even in hard times – maybe especially in hard times – of a community encouraging each other to live in obedience to Jesus, modeling what it looks like to accept his invitation in John 15 and to be his friend. 

In Christ,

—Kyle